# Ewood's NewAir 281e build



## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

Hey guys,

I want to start off saying thank you to all the previous threads I've read that have gotten me to this point. I'm basically lining up my thought process here and any tips/suggestions/corrections are welcome.

*What I currently have:* I have a 100 count cheap-o humidor I bought in college that I have recently stocked. I'm currently using the Humidi-cup electronic humidor (highly reccommend if you want to go the electric route) to regulate humidity. I have 2 digital hydrometers that are currently uncalibrated (Boveda pack arrived today). My place stays at 73-77 degrees throughout the day.

After reading 100's of forums, I have decided to partake on a wineador endeavor. :smile2:

*Purchased items:* 
1- I purchased the NewAir 281e from Best Buy as they do a price match guarantee with Amazon. I checked the past prices of the 281 on camelcamelcamel.com and finally hit on a price I was okay with.
2 - I have ordered the 5 drawer 1 shelf combo from Forrest over at wineadors.com and I upgraded the shelving to Bloodwood (sorry wallet, I couldn't help it >) 
3 - Exquisicat kitty litter

*Here is my basic thought process* 
My NewAir is expected to arrive Friday. My initial thoughts are to unbox it, plug it in and let it sit overnight airing out. If there is a strong plastic smell, I'll scrub it down with baking soda the next day and rinse/repeat this process as much as needed until it's plastic smell free. I'm going on vacation from June 9-14 so I'm hoping to have it smell free by then. While on vacation I plan on seasoning the humidor with bowls of distilled water. I picked up empty boxes from my local shop for free so I'm going to throw them in there at the same time. I plan on using KL to keep the rH stable and install a fan if need be.

Updates to follow


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## WNYTony (Feb 12, 2014)

Congrats on the purchase - you're going to like it. I have 3 of them - 2 with drawers from Forrest and one for mainly boxes. I did a build thread on here somewhere showing my setup with fans and extra Spanish Cedar in the box if you feel like checking it out. 

A couple things that may help 
I just got in some drawers from Forrest back in April. It's my second set from him and he knows me, but it was still a solid 3 month wait. So don't panic when those 6 weeks go by and you've heard nothing, and then you e-mail him and get no response. He's not great at communication so just e-mail again and be patient because it's worth it and that Bloodwood is going to look sweet !

The 281 has plastic "tabs" in the slots the wine racks slide into. They are to hold up the front of the wire racks. You will need to remove those to use the wooden drawers. You just use some needle nose and work them back and forth gently and they will snap off. Remember you are just removing the "tab" - not pulling a hole in the lining.

Unless you're in a big hurry to put sticks in there I wouldn't plug it in right away and leave it running while you are away. You'll want to get any plastic smell out first so the fan doesn't suck it in. Guys recommend filling it with some crumpled newspaper for a few days to take out much of the smell. And then I'd leave it with the door propped open while gone. When you get home give it a quick wipe down and you should be good to go.

Seasoning will go quick as there's not much to season - just the boxes you put in. I would expect if the ambient is in the mid to high 70's and you are looking to cool to 65 and running it - you will probably see some condensation so it will be good to check on that while you are seasoning it and before you load it all up with drawers. 

Best of luck, tell us about your progress and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

So I have gotten rid of all the plastic smell from the wine fridge and I'm seasoning the empty boxes while I wait for my drawers to come in. Forrest emailed me about a week ago and said he should be shipping them by 6/27 so I'm very excited at the quick turnaround!!

For those of you that have gotten drawers from him, what was the typical amount of time it took to season the drawers? And then when placing beads/KL inside, how long did it take to stabilize? Just trying to work on a timeline for myself, I'm very data driven :nerd2:

Second, was the thermostat on your fridge showing an incorrect value? (i.e. set at 66 but showing 69). If so is there a way to adjust the thermostat on the fridge or am I forever stuck with an incorrect reading?


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Bookmarked. Good luck, will be keeping tabs on this as I will be taking the plunge later this summer on a NewAir as well.


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## JTG (Jul 6, 2017)

I just finished my 281E build and I have it stocked full. I also did the 5 drawers and 1 shelf. I got the plastic smell out by going to a local wood shop and buying a piece of spanish cedar. They cut it down into little chunks for me. I plugged the wine cooler in with the chunks of cedar inside and I added a bowl of distilled water to create some humidity. After about 2 weeks of letting it run, the entire unit smelled like cedar and not plastic.

I just added my drawers, cigars, and Heartfelt beads, and I'm having a hell of a time regulating the humidity from the top to the bottom though. Wondering on the fan setups people have. I think that may help my problem a bit.


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

You'll have to post some pics of your setup. Search on fan installs. People have added them to their Wineadors successfully. 


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

Well guys, I got my drawers in last night! 

The bloodwood looks amazing and the quality is outstanding, just a few places to sand and sawdust to wipe off. 

The one thing I didn't realize is how close the drawers are to the glass, I was planning on putting my own handles on but they stick out 1 inch and I've calculated clearance to be about 3/4 of an inch so I have to find another way, stay tuned. I think next time I'll go with the notches for pure convenience sake but that's definitely years down the road.

Currently seasoning the drawers and will be looking into fans if the rh is off top to bottom.

Enjoy!


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

Awesome..Congrats

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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Sweet. How are you seasoning them?


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

Very cool!


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## Mike2147 (Jun 24, 2010)

Damn this thread and this site.... drooling over here. Great looking set up!


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

ice_nyne said:


> Sweet. How are you seasoning them?


I'm gone over the weekend so I've got 5 bowls of distilled water in there, one on each shelf. Rh rose from 61 to 65 yesterday so it's taking well thus far.


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## Bruced (May 20, 2017)

I love you new Humi-Dor, and have one question. Any ideas of the capacity?


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## JTG (Jul 6, 2017)

I have the same model, and I'd estimate my wineador holds around 500.


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

I seasoned the Wineador for the past week and had 4+ days over 80 Rh. the highest reading I saw was 88 on the bottom and 86 on top so it took really well. 

Stumbled into Walmart on Friday to kill some time and saw these plastic pencil cases on sale for $.97/each and figured if they didn't fit I wouldn't be out anything. Well, I've come to find that these things fit like a charm as seen in the pictures. I'm not sure how much KL I put in each but I thought the more the merrier. (took out bottom drawer for picture, the gap isn't that wide normally)

Still no sticks in there yet, just trying to get the Rh to even out top to bottom. Do you guys have higher Rh on the bottom as well? How about temperature control? According to my hydrometers, it's cooler on bottom by 3ish degrees but that may just be because it's only been about a day and a half of having the KL in and fridge on.


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

That's a pretty good find. I am getting consistent RH readings throughout the day, with a 3% change from top to botttom (higher on top). My temp is all over the place during the course of the day....still trying to solve for that. 


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

ice_nyne said:


> That's a pretty good find. I am getting consistent RH readings throughout the day, with a 3% change from top to botttom (higher on top). My temp is all over the place during the course of the day....still trying to solve for that.


Did you end up putting fans in yours? I wonder if the fans would help the temperature even out top to bottom


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Ewood said:


> Did you end up putting fans in yours? I wonder if the fans would help the temperature even out top to bottom


Not yet, but it looks like I will be headed in that direction. I've been running the on board fan but it is dropping the temp too much which is in turn pulling too much moisture from the air.

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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

ice_nyne said:


> Not yet, but it looks like I will be headed in that direction. I've been running the on board fan but it is dropping the temp too much which is in turn pulling too much moisture from the air.


I've been stabilizing pretty well so far. Any idea on what fan you'll get? I was looking into these if things go south for me stability wise - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ2J2K0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2AW0W4FKP16S5


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

STICKS ARE IN!!!!

I'm heading out of town this weekend and things were stabilizing pretty well, ~3 degrees and ~3-4 Rh difference from top to bottom, so I decided it's time for the cigars to find their semi-permanent home :ss

As for capacity, the bottom drawer is completely full holding ~80 La Finca cigars (6.12 x 50) I plan to age for 6-12 months. If you're into robustos like myself, I could easily see you getting into the 100's per drawer. 

I also found a workaround for the handles situation. I did a play on the ribbon you find in some cigar boxes (see pictures) and wrapped them around one of the slats in the drawer and superglued the piece to itself. Only time will tell how well it holds but so far so good, even with the sticks in. I picked up the ribbon at Joann fabric and got 21ft for $2.50.

I know everyone loves pictures so here you go! (Drawers are pictured top to bottom, top storage shelf last) :smile2:


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

Looks awesome bro! 


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Well done. I like the ribbon idea!

How are you thinking of using the USB fans if you go that way? And how many do you think you'll need with your set up?


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

I've added in the fans to try and stabilize the Rh and temp from top to bottom. So far I haven't been able to see much of a difference but it has only been one day. I have the fans set up on a timer for 30 min on - 90 min off. I think part of my problem is the cooler has a ton of condensation coming off the backside (see in picture 2). Does anyone have any advice on how to alleviate this constant flow of water down the back? 
@ice_nyne I purchased a flat USB cable that can be seen in the pictures and wrapped it underneath on the bottom side of wineador, the seal keeps well so that may help you with your problems. Both fans are 80mm and have an adjustable speed function.


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Thanks Eric, I will probably follow suit. What kind of timer did you find to put the fans on?


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

ice_nyne said:


> Thanks Eric, I will probably follow suit. What kind of timer did you find to put the fans on?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I've actually found that the "thin" cord is pretty thick and left a huge gap in the seal so I've scrapped the idea for now. I put less beads in, moved the shelves down, pulled them a 1/4 inch forward and seem to have no problem keeping Rh now. Weird.


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## ice_nyne (Apr 12, 2017)

Huh that is weird. Hopefully that sticks!


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## 5280Nomad (Jun 29, 2017)

Have you considered drilling a small hole, putting a grommet in, and sealing it with silicon? If you seal it properly, it won't leak. Then you could run the fans.


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## FluorideInMyWater (Sep 24, 2017)

i'm a noob................looking at the NewAir CC-100 Cigar Cooler.. Are you just modifying a larger wine cooler for cigars? is NewAir better than the Whynter CHC-120S Stainless Steel 250-Cigar Cooler Humidor?

can you add more drawers to the CC-100? would't mind an extra drawer.
not sure what camelcamelcamel.com is. will have to take a look.
does anyone have input on the CC-100?
thanks in advance!

oh, i also saw a model called THE Clevelander. i was wondering if this is the CC-300 or some variation of it?? i saw it on *1stclasshumidors.com. *is that a NewAir or something else?


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

Both good wineador 's but you'll probably not be adding any drawers to the CC-100's. Is your climate extremely warm? Probably better off with a coleman cooler 48qt cheap and effective! Plus you'll probably be able to fit way more cigars inside :vs_cool:


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## FluorideInMyWater (Sep 24, 2017)

Kidvegas said:


> Both good wineador 's but you'll probably not be adding any drawers to the CC-100's. Is your climate extremely warm? Probably better off with a coleman cooler 48qt cheap and effective! Plus you'll probably be able to fit way more cigars inside :vs_cool:
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


i'm in LAS VEGAS :O
75-F Today and 15% humidity.

so someone in another thread said "Clevelander = NewAir" is this true?
i'll have to take a look at the one you just recommended.
EDIT. HAHA. yes, all i need is a chilled coconut and and a bottle of rum
seriously though, i need some recommendations and to know if the Cleavelander is a NewAir.
thanks!!!


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

I believe they are basically the same model. Only mentioned the coleman cooler for cost effectiveness! $40 or less compared to $100 or better for the wineador 


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## FluorideInMyWater (Sep 24, 2017)

Kidvegas said:


> I believe they are basically the same model. Only mentioned the coleman cooler for cost effectiveness! $40 or less compared to $100 or better for the wineador
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


what do you do? just throw the cigars in with blue ice? lol
maybe you're serious about the coleman cooler. plz explain how to make the work exactly. i'll im visualizing is cold coconuts with rum.


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

FluorideInMyWater said:


> what do you do? just throw the cigars in with blue ice? lol
> maybe you're serious about the coleman cooler. plz explain how to make the work exactly. i'll im visualizing is cold coconuts with rum.


Not a joke! Buy a cooler give it a quick wash with some mild soap and let dry. Add whatever type of rh media you prefer beads, bovedas, kitty litter. Place inside with your cigars with a hygrometer and your finished. Cheap and effective. I use one myself and believe me when i say it's fool proof. Of course you'll need enough media per size of cooler.

If ya use the search function here on the forum you'll find many threads to guide ya.

Ya get a chance head over to the Intro section. Give everyone a little background about yourself. I'm sure you'd get more people chiming in if they knew a bit about cha!
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## Hickorynut (Jun 26, 2017)

Kidvegas said:


> Both good wineador 's but you'll probably not be adding any drawers to the CC-100's. Is your climate extremely warm? Probably better off with a coleman cooler 48qt cheap and effective! Plus you'll probably be able to fit way more cigars inside :vs_cool:
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Good advice here....I run a couple 48qt coolers. Ga...90 degrees 89humidity. Those coolers set at 65 humidity at 73 degrees all day long wuth minimal maintenance. ...

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## JtAv8tor (Apr 12, 2017)

If you do not mind a "Scratch and Dent" item which usually has minimal defects, sometimes just a small dent on the side from my experience but always fully functional check this out

NewAir AW-281E-BL Scratch & Dent 28 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler With See-Thru Pane

Also use the code CLEARANCE in checkout and sometimes up to 40 % off of the already reduced price. The example in the link ends up being 160.00 shipped for a 28 bottle cooler, yes it doesn't have the cedar drawers and shelves but that is something that can be added later if you desire.

beats the 250-400 price tag on them usually.

But as mentioned before coolers work like champs as well.


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## Ewood (May 30, 2017)

I ran into some issues when I was rotating my sticks earlier in the month and found some fuzzy stuff on the backs of my drawers. I instantly came to the great minds at PUFF for diagnosis, which it was mold. After much discussion, it just led to confusion since my hydros were reading that everything should be correct. I tested their calibration and they were all off substantially, okay now I know I have a problem. After recalibrating, I put them back in after sanding my drawers and cleaning them with some rubbing alcohol (as suggested by members here) I figured I would be good. That thread can be found here: https://www.cigarforums.net/forums/...ssion/277306-fuzzy-mold-wineador-drawers.html

I wait a few days for everything to even out and nope, still not reading good on my front hydro. I decide to put one hydro deep in the back of one of the shelves and keep the one up front still there to see if there is any differences. Alas, the back was reading 10%rh higher than the front! THAT is why the mold was growing, I had Amazon Jungle-like conditions back there.

This then led into one of the most time consuming yet fun projects I have done so far relating to cigars. I decided to drill holes in the backs of all my drawers to increase airflow. Here are some pictures to accompany my commentary but overall, I would say the project took about 10-12 hours (I'm not very crafty and don't have many tools because I live in an apartment). I measured out a piece of paper as a guidewire and then went to work. I had to drill the outsider first, then switch and drill the inside some (this was to prevent splintering) then back to the outside to finish the hole off. 















Now the biggest question is: "Did it work?" YES! THANKFULLY! I've had everything in for the last 2 days and I'm reading 66% front and back. All I need to do now is drop it 1 rh and it'll be perfect.

Thanks for reading, hopefully everyone re-checks their hydos after this!

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## FluorideInMyWater (Sep 24, 2017)

interesting set-up on the fans. i was wondering how people were wiring in the fans. i was thinking of going thru the drain plug. i thought of a crazy idea that worked........i had some silicone ear-plugs and just pushed one in and it completely sealed the tube......and it's no big deal to take it out again. it's air tight and water tight. i'm sure someone you could just get thin wires to go thru the tube and then push in an ear plug. no mess, no fuss....
the ones i have are about 1 inch long but they are so pliable that you could get larger and just push one in place from end-to-end, inside to outside, as well as accommodate thin wires. 

i'm still cleaning out my box with DW and baking soda. when i leave it for a few days, the water in the drainage slot is still there and there is no water underneath on the drip pan so i know it works. you can buy 20 - 40 for under $4 at walmart.


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## FluorideInMyWater (Sep 24, 2017)

Ewood said:


> I ran into some issues when I was rotating my sticks earlier in the month and found some fuzzy stuff on the backs of my drawers. I instantly came to the great minds at PUFF for diagnosis, which it was mold. After much discussion, it just led to confusion since my hydros were reading that everything should be correct. I tested their calibration and they were all off substantially, okay now I know I have a problem. After recalibrating, I put them back in after sanding my drawers and cleaning them with some rubbing alcohol (as suggested by members here) I figured I would be good. That thread can be found here: https://www.cigarforums.net/forums/...ssion/277306-fuzzy-mold-wineador-drawers.html
> 
> I wait a few days for everything to even out and nope, still not reading good on my front hydro. I decide to put one hydro deep in the back of one of the shelves and keep the one up front still there to see if there is any differences. Alas, the back was reading 10%rh higher than the front! THAT is why the mold was growing, I had Amazon Jungle-like conditions back there.
> 
> ...


yeah, i was thinking about having hygro-II's in the drawers, maybe affixed to the back-inside wall of the drawer to see what is actually going on inside the drawer rather than at the front glass. all a learning experience.


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## cigaraddict (Dec 24, 2011)

Hopefully you solved this issue in July when you drilled holes, but if you throw a 65% Boveda (or 2) in your drawer they should help absorb any excess your experiencing toward the rear of the drawers. 

I had the same setup with the same drawer and that’s what I did to help even out levels 


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## Olecharlie (Oct 28, 2017)

Nice work! Should be an Awesome cooler.


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